Honey, hugs, there is not much I can say. You just have to keep on trying.

Honey, you are talkin' my story here! I was 'home' for a dozen years, and went back for a college refresher certificate (I had/have a university degree already) and this really helped me to get back into the workforce.

I left work in 1990 to start my family and was re-entering in 2002 so that pretty much encompasses the boom of the computer age...I needed LOTS of training! So I got it. I worked until my marriage ended and was doing well enough I suppose. That said, I took a sick leave from my career type job when I had an emotional breakdown during the separation, and I lost my job. That was 2012. I am STILL unemployed.

I've moved to a new town (right next door to a major city) but I don't have a professional network or any connections that have panned out. I'm 50 now and I really do feel that I'm falling into some ageism in the workforce. I'm NOT an entry level person; I'd put myself right in that professional limbo where I'm looking for a job at a level where my contemporaries are NOT moving out...other late 'boomers' are hangin on to their jobs for dear life, and as MUCH as the government (Canada in my case) would like us to believe that 'new' jobs are being created, they are NOT life-supportable positions...minimum wage etc. Thank God for the social safety net here, with healthcare etc. or I'd never have made it this long!

So good luck hon, it takes time and lots and lots of job search. Online is where it's at, but you know that!

Difficult but not impossible. Keep the perseverance goin. Careerlink, Career resource centers can help give you some guidance. My skills are outdated as well but we are trainable! lol I'm now doing something entirely different and have taken dramatic paycuts. I was making $11.00/hr in 1980 and am making just a little over that now - ugh! I have benefits and am glad to be employed but it wasn't easy with all resumes being online. Nobody to meet, talk to, etc. Good luck. keep pluggin, stay positive :)

Yes. He went on w his career and I am broke and live w my parents.

All I can say is keep on trying, do some extra classes to get up on it and sell yourself. AGE and experience impress some people.

Yes I know all this. Employers do not. Been at it since 2008.

TY

I stayed at home for almost 11 years with the kids. I found it very hard to make it back into the workforce for many of the reasons you stated.

I got turned down. A LOT. I worked at Starbucks for minimum wage while I looked. I had to redefine what career I was willing to go for, my salary I thought I was worth, etc. I finally found THE perfect job and love it. I have been here almost 3 years now. Just hang in there.

yes I feel your fear and your pain I homeschooled my kids and was a stay at home mom since I was 19 never thought I would have to have a career. He has left me with nothing and I am 53. It's scarey I have a job but I suggest prayer its the only way I survive everyday..........

I was a stay-at-home mom for 17 years. I had already gone back to college to finish my degree when my ex yanked the world out from under me. So, I can truly appreciate where you are now. I thank God every day that he earned a fair amount of money and the state of Colorado frowns on husbands who abandon their wives after 20+ years. So, I got a pretty nice settlement from him for the next 8 years. This is helping me to finish my degree. I now only have a few months left, and then I graduate. Prior to staying home, I was a paralegal for 10 years. I thought it would be easy to get back into the workforce. Boy was I wrong. I sent out more than a 100 resumes and got only one interview. I wasn't offered the job because I had no recent experience and no degree. And, what iammine has said is a very real issue - ageism is a battle we will all likely face as we get older. If it's possible for you to go back to college, perhaps that might be a good option. There are so many possibilities, and you get to challenge yourself and even find yourself again. I've discovered that I'm much smarter than I thought. It helps boost the self-esteem.

I wish you all the best. I know this transition is very tough. I still struggle with it. My kids are grown and out on their own, so it's just me. While I'm grateful for the peace and quiet, sometimes it's too much quiet. No matter what your circumstances, there is always a solution. You will find your way and be much better and happier for it.

Hugs to you!

Right now, I'm feeling horrified about the way stay-at-moms fare in a divorce. Why is it that staying home and raising your kids gets no respect from the court or the attorneys? I had my own business for 20 years before I had my daughter and that paled in comparison to raising her. Raising kids is the hardest things I've ever done. Nothing I encountered professionally even comes close. Ugh.

Goldengirl, you are so right about the comparison of raising children to the workforce. If we women ever went on strike from all the work we do, the economy would sink faster than a rock thrown in a pond. I also get really angry at that fact. I knew a guy that took over raising the kids because his wife made 3x what he made and he wanted to go back to work after a month. They ended up hiring a live in nanny and he went back to school to upgrade his skills. That shows you how much we do. I was lucky, because I was just home 2 years and was able to find a job quickly. But now, I am 64 and semi retired due to a car accident. I can do it because of the Golden Rule of PAYING MYSELF FIRST. No matter how hard it was, I paid myself first.

You're forgetting the primary objective of Divorce court, is to dissolve the marital contract which frees you from being in a bondage forever until death. Which parent who actually stays at home raising the kids gets no extra monetary benefit for difficulty does not imply having little value or unworthiness.

Far back as I can remember, employment for the matured has encountered bias and marginalization. Depending on the employer's philosophy, grooming an individual is a financial expense. Many are not willing to be patient as the learning curve kicks in. It's a problem. For example, not long ago, a nice young adult gal was sitting next to me playing bingo made conversation. After the number was called out, she was quick to even point out the numbers on my sheet mille seconds before I could mark it !!! In other words, either she was darn fast or I was slow on my draw by comparison. [If I known, I would have taken on several bingo sheets...LOL!!! ]

Anyway, it is a problem even for the many already with advanced degree who are matured in today's job market.

I stayed at home until both were in school (about 7 years). I had a difficult time getting anyone to give me a chance because the type of work I could do, most people could do too, so anyone with recent experience got chosen. I couldn't try to lower my asking salary because the goal was to make money, not spend every penny on gas and childcare when they were on break from school. I was a substitute teacher for awhile. It was flexible and I was off when the kids were off. Later I got a break because I knew someone. I was recommended to fill in for someone on medical leave as a temporary. Later I applied for an open position and got hired.

I stayed home for 17 years when our youngest daughter was born. I went back to work part time when my daughter was in HS. I'm minimum wage and worked two jobs to put her thru two years of college with no student loans. Her dad went to work overseas and he paid the last two years of her education.

I could save more money at home than I could make working. Now I still make more money from home than I could working in town. I hated it when the ex said something about my "little job". Those little jobs bought groceries the few times the ex had to work out of state.

I've worked in a shoe store, a pizza hut, McDonalds, the insert room at the local newspaper, and on two different farms. Now I work for myself and make three times what I could make at minimum wage.

I was a housewife for 20+ years and I left my husband. I would have left earlier, and that could have saved the marriage, but I was too afraid. Finally I got to the point when I had no choice, I had to leave and start putting the pieces together. The most difficult part for me was to gain the confidence to go out and believe in myself. I am 55 and I was able to get a full time job with benefits. Is not the best pay, is not the perfect job but, it is in my field and I have learned a lot here. I starting volunteering basically working for free until I got noticed and ended being in the right place at the right time. I am still , I am still learning but now I know that it is possible and I am in a much better situation Good luck to you